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Reducing the Pull of Memories to Fight Drug Addiction Relapse

Researchers are working to prevent drug relapse by reducing the powerful tug of drug-associated memories.  While some may believe that beating addiction is just a matter of willpower, scientific evidence has established that drug addiction is a chronic illness that produces lasting changes to the brain’s chemistry and function. Some 40 to 60 percent of people treated for substance abuse disorders will eventually relapse, according to a study in The Journal of the American Medical Association. ...

How Fragment-Based Drug Screening Is Like the ‘Tetris’ of Drug Design

An alternative approach to drug screening searches for small fragments that snugly fit into a protein drug target.  For more than two decades, high throughput screening (HTS) has been the main technique used to begin the process of developing new drugs. Often described as the “needle in the haystack” approach, HTS involves screening about a million compounds against a disease target — usually proteins — that are found in the body. It’s like a matchmaking game: the goal is to find a drug...

Decoding Science: Cytokines

From the Greek “cyto” for cell and “kinos” for movement, these chemical messengers orchestrate the immune system’s activity, and may be the key to understanding and treating autoimmune disorders. Behind every complex organization, from great militaries to multinational corporations, is an equally sophisticated communications system. For the immune system, the body’s complex system for fighting off disease and infections, cytokines are the vital protein messengers that mediate activity. Produced...

Cryo-Electron Microscope Opens Resolution Revolution for Biological Imaging

The history of microscopes is one of ever higher magnification, enabling scientists to peer deeper and deeper into the minute details of nature invisible to the naked eye. The latest category of this powerful tool is what’s called a cryo-electron microscope, and its groundbreaking properties are revolutionizing the way scientists are imaging the smallest of structures — especially in the life sciences. The cryo-electron microscope, or cryo-EM, is allowing scientists to image structures as...

This Scientist's Life: Rosemary Orciari

Rosemary Orciari went to the doctor with severe abdominal pain, only to return without treatment after the doctors said that they couldn’t find anything wrong. Rosemary Orciari, a survivor of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma as a child, is now a scientist in Pfizer's Groton, Connecticut research site.  A few months later, they found what was wrong in an ultrasound: a mass about the size of a volleyball. Her diagnosis: non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Rosemary was in the eighth grade. “They told my parents I...

Coffee Doesn’t Give You the Jitters, Alcohol Makes You Blush: Thank Your Genes

No two people respond to drugs and common chemicals the same way. That’s partly due to our genes. Are you one of those people who can’t stand the taste of cilantro sprinkled on your tacos or guacamole? You’re not alone. About 4 to 14 percent of the population has a genetic variation on an olfactory-receptor gene called OR6A2 that contributes to the detection of the leafy green herb’s soapy smell. Turns out, small variations in our DNA called single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs (pronounced...

When Diversity Means Better Medicine

By tapping into more diverse genomes, researchers are gaining novel insights into disease and drug safety.  For a variety of historical and logistical reasons, the vast majority of genomics research, to date, has been done in European populations. A 2016 analysis in the journal Nature found that 81 percent of participants in genetic research are of European ancestry.   But in recent years scientists are pushing to expand research into more diverse groups to gain broader insights into the...

This Scientist's Life: Judith Absalon

Meet Judith Absalon, a Senior Director in Vaccines Clinical Research at Pfizer’s Pearl River, N.Y., research site. As a global clinical lead, she’s the head doctor that oversees the clinical trial process when a new vaccine candidate is tested in people.   Clinical trials are rooted in the scientific method, says Absalon. “You start with a question. If you’re lucky, you get to figure out how you’re going to answer the question. Then through diligence, persistence and flexibility, you gather...

Group B Strep: A Dangerous Infection in Infants and Adults

Despite advances in treatment and prevention, Group B strep continues to be the leading cause of dangerous infections in newborns, pregnant mothers and adults.   An estimated 10% – 30% of pregnant women in the U.S. carry Group B streptococcus (GBS), bacteria that live in the intestine, vagina and rectum, and usually show no symptoms. During childbirth, however, the situation can change. Colonized mothers can pass GBS via amniotic or vaginal fluids to their babies causing infections which may...

Vaccines to Fight Sugar-Coated Bacteria

Sugar-coating can put a positive spin on things. But when it comes to some bacteria, which cause diseases such as meningitis and pneumonia, their sugar coating is among the traits that make them so dangerous to humans. Read on to learn how scientists have developed a class of vaccines, known as polysaccharide protein conjugate vaccines, that teach the immune system to fight these microbes.  But First, Vaccine Basics Vaccines are a powerful public health tool that saves two to three million...

foundations-science

Seeing Science in the Everyday: Glow Sticks That Detect Cancer

Researchers are using the same chemical processes behind glow sticks to make better tools to diagnose cancer.  The same science behind glow sticks and the crime scene chemical luminol – which glows blue in the presence of blood  – is now being used to develop cutting-edge tools to detect cancer and other medical diagnoses. When you snap a glow stick, two liquids inside the plastic tube come into contact, setting off a chemical reaction that emits energy in the form of light. This process is...

How Genetically Related Are We to Bananas?

Gene sequencing reveals that we have more in common with bananas, chickens, and fruit flies than you may expect. We’ve long known that we’re closely related to chimpanzees and other primates, but did you know that humans also share more than half of our genetic material with chickens, fruit flies, and bananas? Since the human genome was first sequenced in 2003, the field of comparative genomics has revealed that we share common DNA with many other living organisms — yes, including our favorite...